"The Moonstone"

We have a book reccomendation today: Wilkie Collins' The Moonstone.

Collins is credited with being the father of the British detective novel (one of my all time favorite genres). This mystery has a little bit of everything: suspence, intrigue, drama, murder, romance. It's masterfully written and reaches its tendrils into nearly every aspect of the human experience. No character is left undeveloped. No subplot is left without being chased down to it's end. It was absolutely brilliant. On top of all this, it was very discreetly and modestly written on the topics of romance, murder and theivery.

The Moonstone is an ancient Indian diamond - a yellow diamond - that is stolen quite violently from its setting in the forhead of an Indian idol by an English military man. It's fabeled to be cursed, and the man who stole it bequeaths it to his niece as a birthday gift as a way to get revenge on his sister. Within 12 hours it is lost, taken mysteriously from the niece's room. The niece throws up road block after road block before the police and loved ones trying to recover her jewel. Why would the victim be so reticent to aid them in finding her birthday gift? What is she hiding?

Highly worth reading - but pick a season when you have plenty of time. It's impossible to put down.